Another Reality Show comes to Orange County: Shark Tank

(My Day at Shark Tank (part III)

Reality shows have had a significant presence in Orange County over the years, from the Queen of them “Real Housewives” to “Laguna Beach: The Real (really??) Orange County” on MTV and dozens of local participants from many shows over the past decade. I wrote a two-part series in earlier blogs on what I call “The Most Successful TV Show in History; Shark Tank,” and recently went to LA for another audition (more on that another time)

As I previously mentioned, I am a fan, addict and supporter of The Shark Tank and more important, the spirit of inventiveness and entrepreneurship it fosters. Over the past four seasons there have been about 50 shows and about 250 contestants. And I have seen and dissected every one. Did I say I was addicted?

Next week on June 29 the largest group of alumni will come to Orange County to share their experiences from the show and afterwards with an event called “Shark Boot Camp.”

This all day event offers panels, pitch sessions and classes on several topics.  Everyone wants to know: How did you get on? What was it like? If you got money, did it work out? Or if you did not get money, what happened? Many of those questions will be addressed in a very intimate gathering and reunion, and joined by fans of the show and budding entrepreneurs.

The “Art of the Pitch” is part science AND art and most business owners do not really know how to articulate their business, and almost as bad, they don’t know how to “ask” for money. Getting insight and coaching will help whether you are asking friends or relatives, banks, Angel investors, Venture Capitalists or millions of people on TV. Another variation of capital raising is the new phenomenon called “CrowdFunding” where you get little amounts of money from many, many people. That will also be a speaking topic on June 29.

I have quantified the “Shark Tank” mindset and potential candidate into three different types. Some of them currently exist and some are contestants waiting to happen. They are:

• Those that have been on the show- and got money
• Those that have been on the show and did not
• And those that tried to get on the show and were unsuccessful

Is there a pattern? Are there hints and tips to know to improve your chance of success? The answer is a resounding YES, and that insight will be taught at this event and with the Special report called “An Insider's Guide to Increasing your Chances of being Picked for the Show and by the Sharks," available as a free download here.

As brilliant as Mark Burnett is as a reality show producer, the origins of Shark Tank go back many years before the United States version and the first broadcast was actually in Japan. It was initially called “Manê no Tora", which translates into “Money Tigers,” and it aired from 2001 to 2004. It was unique in that it was the first Japanese entertainment program that dealt with the concept of business investment. No doubt it was much different from the current version we watch and they also had a much bigger pool of Sharks, (Tigers) with as many as sixteen. That was good news for the contestant since it increased the chances of getting a partner by three, much better odds than with just five Sharks. Since then the show has become a worldwide phenomenon and has been seen in more than twenty countries during the past ten years. Even nations you wouldn’t think could gather an audience carries a version, including Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, and Afghanistan. We can only imagine the type of pitches they get in other countries. It also made it into Croatia, the mother county of one of our current Sharks, Robert Herjavec, but he is not part of the panel. The one that most follows our version is the one that preceded our U.S. edition, and that is Dragon’s Den, from Canada, which has been on since 2006 and since then they have aired almost twice the number of shows as we have here in the U.S. That show is still on and has also had two alumni from our version from the beginning; Robert, mentioned above, who lives in Canada, and Kevin O’Leary, AKA, Mr. Wonderful, who sits front center in the one we watch, also born in Canada. So after sitting through more than 100 shows between two countries, how many businesses or inventions do you think these investors have seen or bought in to? This is a great opportunity for them as well as the entrepreneur that is pitching.

Contact this reporter for more information or register at www.SharkBootCamp.com